The #Resistance isn’t content with its “impeach Trump” efforts, its Russia investigation, its marches, boycotts, and pussy hats. Some of them are targeting President Trump’s business efforts as a means of political retribution.
The latest of these efforts took place in Washington DC where a “group of civic and religious leaders” banded together to press the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration there to revoke the Trump International Hotel’s liquor license. The group, laughably calling themselves “Make Integrity Great Again,” asserted that he doesn’t pass the “good character” test.
The alcohol board declined to review the complaint and told them they could resubmit their concerns when the license is up for renewal in March of next year. This decision is being challenged, with the group of “residents” insisting that it be reviewed immediately.
Politico reported earlier this week:
Donald Trump is president, but is he fit to run a bar?A Washington, D.C., liquor board will consider that question Wednesday after a group of city residents complained that the owner of the Trump International Hotel fails the “good character” test required of anyone who wants to sell wine, beer or spirits in the city.In their grievance to the city’s Alcohol Beverage Control Board, the group presented a litany of what they say are Trump’s moral failures, calling him a liar, a fraudster and a racist who associates with criminals.. . . . Yanking the hotel’s liquor license would put a serious dent in its events business, including weddings and fundraisers. The hotel’s steakhouse, BLT Prime, and the lobby’s popular Benjamin Bar and Lounge — mocked by locals for serving wine by the spoonful — operate under a separate license that isn’t targeted by the current complaint. But both could be hit if the case goes forward, because they, like the hotel, have liquor licenses held by Trump Old Post Office LLC, which in turn is owned by the president.. . . . The control board has cited character flaws to deny liquor licenses in the past, including to applicants who have lied to investigators, misrepresented their finances or had run-ins with the law. But while it has sought to revoke licenses for violations such as serving underage customers, running the taps after hours and shoddy record-keeping, it’s unusual for the board to investigate an existing license on the basis of character.
The board chose not to break precedent in this case and refused the group’s request for a “show cause” hearing. Instead, they said that the group can make its complaints known at the usual time, when the license if up for renewal. This will be in March of 2019.
DC’s liquor board has temporarily kneecapped efforts to overturn Trump International Hotel’s liquor license. During a public hearing on Wednesday afternoon, the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration announced that the renovated Old Post Office will maintain its ability to serve alcoholic beverages to patrons—for now.. . . . Board chairman Donovan Anderson says that the board will not hold a “show cause” hearing to hear arguments regarding the revocation of the hotel’s license.. . . . Anderson noted that it’s uncommon to call for such a hearing after the period to apply for or renew a liquor license passes, adding that the hotel—and any other license holding establishment, for that matter—must apply for renewal by March 2019. At that time, new complaints can be brought forward.Yet the complainants refuse to wait around.“We’ll be filing a submission to the board demanding they look at the statue as a whole and reconsider their decision,” attorney Joshua A. Levy says. A letter, which will likely be submitted in the next few business days, will urge the board to re-review allegations made against Trump.Why not reconvene in March? “The facts are so compelling right now that the board has a duty to act now,” Levy says. “This is an individual who has demonstrated, in public, hundreds of pages of evidence of bad character. When that happens, whether it’s the President or anyone else, as a duty to community…the board should act now.”
The New York Times reports that the board’s decision was unanimous and notes that “the activists . . . were targeting one of the hotel’s most profitable areas.”
This won’t be the last time such “activists” target President Trump’s business empire. If they can’t beat him honestly, in the voting booth, they’ll seek political retribution by “targeting” his businesses. So much for integrity.
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